China's Foreign Minister Urges Peace Talks Between Russia And Ukraine In Rare Phone Call To Ukraine's Foreign Minister

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang Photo: Courtesy of fmprc.gov.cn

Reuters: China hopes Russia and Ukraine will hold peace talks, says senior Chinese diplomat

BEIJING (Reuters) -China is concerned about an escalation of the war in Ukraine and hopes Moscow and Kyiv will hold peace talks, senior Chinese diplomat Qin Gang told his Ukrainian counterpart on a phone call on Thursday.

China, which has refrained from condemning Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, has urged both sides to agree to a gradual de-escalation leading to a comprehensive ceasefire in its 12-point paper on the "political resolution of the Ukraine crisis".

The plan, which received a lukewarm welcome on both sides, called for the protection of civilians and respect for each other's sovereignty.

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WNU Editor: It is not going to be easy for China to broker a peace deal .... Can China broker peace between Russia and Ukraine? (Reuters). Both Russia and Ukraine are primarily focused in achieving their goals on the battlefield, but I also believe China is aware of that.

So why the Chinese diplomatic push?

What I see is Beijing positioning themselves to be the broker when one side will make the decision that it will be in their interest to freeze and/or end the conflict. China's playing the long game, and they are betting that by the end of the year they will asked to play the critical role of broker. They are only one of the few countries in the world calling for peace talks, and they are trying their best to get the discussion going.

Update: The US is following very closely what China is doing in this conflict. That is why I am not surprised when I read this report yesterday that on the same day that Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang called his counterpart in Ukraine, US Secretary of State was also on the phone with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba .... Top China and US envoys speak with Ukrainian foreign minister about war’s outlook (SCMP).

It is not in the interest right now of the US to see this war stopping with a ceasefire and/or agreement to end/freeze the conflict. And it is certainly not in the interest of the White House to see China being the driving force to end it.

China's Foreign Minister Urges Peace Talks Between Russia And Ukraine In Rare Phone Call To Ukraine's Foreign Minister

Chinese FM expresses hope for dialogue over crisis in phone call with Ukrainian FM -- Global Times (China)

China foreign minister in rare call with Ukraine counterpart -- AP

China’s foreign minister makes rare call to Ukrainian counterpart ahead of Xi’s Moscow visit -- The Independent